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Today we did something that was an old tradition that simply got lost in the mix - circuits. We took the entire team, and split them up between 30-35 circuits. Each station was done for 45 seconds with 10-15 seconds of rest in between.
This used to be one of my all-time favorite activities when I first started coaching. It's so clear who is going to be a "worker" and who is simply there to spend time with friends. When we've done this in previous years, I've been able to consistently predict what individuals will stick it out and give their all for the team.
The first phase of the season is "General Preparation" so doing circuits that have various focuses that add up to whole-body strength is honestly something I highly recommend to anyone reading.
For jumpers, we had a "rocket jump with freeze" station, a "tuck jump with freeze" station, and a "180/360 jumps with freeze" station. The rocket jumps are simply a jump where you try to mimic a rocket taking off - hands exploding upwards to create a straight line from hands to toes. The truck jump is a jump where you bring your knees up to your hands that are extended straight out from your body. The 180/360 jumps are simply jumping 180 degrees (facing the opposite direction that you started facing) and jumping 360 degrees (facing the same direction that you started at). The "freeze" part simply refers to athletes understanding how to land (take the pounding) properly, testing balance, and indirectly teaching them how to do other activities correctly like a squat in the weight room. A lot of kids don't know these skills, so it's very important to teach them early in the season.
TOMORROW:
X-factor day! We will be doing stations once again, but the focuses will be very different from today's work. Each area will have very event-specific movements, mechanical work, explosion focused activities, etc. Really looking forward to this!